Dies. Does brand name make a difference?

[easyrider604]

Hello again, lol. I've been reloading for about a year now . Using RCBS equipment. .45 LC, .37/38,.223,.308. Im now looking for a set of .40 cal dies. I've seen a set of Lee on the EE for a good price and was wondering if they would be good enough for .40 cal? What's the difference? If any? Third world problems, I know ... But

Yes brand matters, that's why I always buy Lee dies, molds, presses.

 

[Bluedevil25]

Bonanza is now Forster, perhaps still available but from Forster, worth a call

My .308 Forster dies are stamped .308 WIN N.M. I can't remember where I bought them from here in Canada but they work fine.

 

[ivor]

I have owned, or own dies from RCBS, Lee, Hornady, and Lyman; oddly enough never Redding dies. I prefer RCBS dies to most of them for the customer service, and to Lee due to the fact that I partially size and the RCBS are easier to set up. I'm not a fan at all of Hornady dies as both sets I have owned have been rough.
Ivor

 

[Sqr]

For this caliber I like my Pacific dies however a Reloader can not go wrong with the new Hornady hardware.

 

[Quiet]

Buddy has a set of Bonanza dies in 308NM and they work effortlessly.
Dastard won't trade for my RCBS.

Too bad RCBS won't make a longer taper on their expanding ball.

I use dies from Redding, CH4D, Lee, and RCBS. I rate them in that order. The biggest problem with Lee is the lock rings, which can be replaced. RCBS gives me terrible runout problems which require more complicated workarounds.
I also got a set of 6.5x55 Bonanza dies in a trade. I'd never heard of "Bonanza" before and they looked kind of cheap so I didn't have high expectations - boy was I wrong. They produced cartridges with virtually no runout.

 

[zthou]

I use RCBS for all my rifle (Not saying that they are the best or anything) but I have tried a number of different pistol dies and once you have tried the Dillon pistol dies you won't use anything else.